


October 2014 Prompt Fills

by UnmovingGreatLibrary



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Senki Zesshou Symphogear, Touhou Project
Genre: Drabble Collection, F/F, Gen, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-16
Updated: 2014-10-16
Packaged: 2018-02-21 11:17:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2466305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnmovingGreatLibrary/pseuds/UnmovingGreatLibrary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten pairing-based prompt fills, from the list at http://peekbelowthesurface.tumblr.com/post/31877601594/send-me-a-number-and-two-characters-get-a-drabble</p><p>Contents:<br/>1. (PMMM) Homura and Kyoko - Broken Pieces<br/>2. (PMMM) Sayaka and Kyoko - Breathe Again<br/>3. (PMMM) Mami and Kyoko - Family<br/>4. (Touhou) Kasen and Komachi - Keeping a Secret<br/>5. (Touhou) Reimu and Marisa - Under the Rain<br/>6. (Touhou) Reimu and Marisa - Kick in the Head<br/>7. (Touhou) Seiga and Yoshika - All That I Have<br/>8. (Touhou) Alice and Marisa - Cat<br/>9. (Touhou) Alice and Wakasagihime - Fairytale<br/>10. (Symphogear) Hibiki and Miku - Love</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Homura and Kyoko - Broken Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Tumblr user a-meteor-shower-at-dawn.

The witch's shadow burst forward, and Kyoko flourished her spear before leaping to meet it. The shadowy limb blasted apart from a single strike, and when Kyoko landed, she was grinning like a shark. "This one's not so hard," she said, then slammed another attack away before sliding a new pocky stick into her mouth.

"Please don't get cocky, Sakura-san." Already, Homura was studying the witch's movements, trying to find the exact right opening to attack. Even so, she was feeling almost... relaxed. They'd taken out every witch so far without much trouble. It was the first timeline in ages that she'd felt new hope at beating Walpurgisnacht. Kyoko was a reliable partner, with a simplicity of purpose that was comfortably familiar.

The witch dove at Kyoko again, and with a jerk of her shield, Homura stopped the flow of time. Among dozens of sprawling limbs, the parted shadow revealed the kneeling figure at its base. Simple enough. Homura slapped the trigger on a grenade and dashed forward, tossed the grenade into the witch's heart, and leapt backward before she allowed time to resume. Kyoko drove the shadow back with a calculated jab, and it flowed back into place, wrapping the bomb inside itself.

"Hey, think this is our fastest kill yet?" Kyoko glanced over, grinning... and then, everything happened at once.

As fast as a bullet, the witch lashed out at Kyoko again. Homura jerked her shield. The bomb exploded. Time stopped.

Homura was already dashing forward to shove Kyoko out of the way before she got a good view of the frozen scene. At the base of the witch, the first chunks of its flaming body were bursting outward, hovering around the still-blinding explosion. The end of Kyoko's pocky stick was left hanging in mid-air, with a few crumbs trailing upward toward her mouth.

And below it, a single knife-sharp tendril of shadow was impaled straight through Kyoko's soul gem. The shattered fragments had barely spread centimeters from their source, but the damage was done.

Homura staggered to a stop, shocked, before reason overrode emotion. Heart in her throat, she ripped the shadow out of place. The glittering shards of Kyoko's soul gem hung in the air, and frantically, Homura started pushing them back into place. It had barely been milliseconds. Maybe if she could just get it back together...

Kyoko stared at her as she worked. The girl's face still held a confident grin, with only the first traces of wide-eyed shock. She wasn't dead. She didn't look dead. She wasn't dead, Homura had to reassure herself, as her trembling fingers shoved the soul gem together piece by piece.

When it was done, she searched the air from every angle, searching for the tiniest fleck of red gemstone suspended in the light. It was an obsessive, anxious task, the kind of thing she had to do again and again because she couldn't trust her own perception. By the time she finished, she was nauseous and weak, and still, the witch loomed overhead.

Finally satisfied that she was done, Homura stepped back, took a steadying breath, reached for her shield... and froze. What if it didn't work? What if Kyoko fell to the ground the second time sunk its claws into her? She wasn't sure if she was ready for that.

In soundless, dead world, Homura Akemi slumped to the ground, and waited for her heart to be hardened enough to let time resume. There was no way she could win with shaking hands, a racing mind, and stumbling legs. If she was going to finish the fight without hesitation or error, she had to deliberately drive all concern for the death or survival of Kyoko Sakura from her heart.

It wasn't the first time she'd done such an exercise. But it never got easier.

When Homura finally let the heartbeat of the world resume, hours worth of tears splashed to the ground, alongside the broken pieces of a girl's soul.


	2. Sayaka and Kyoko - Breathe Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Tumblr user bunbunmaru.

Kyoko had told herself that it'd be like every other time they'd fought—kick Sayaka's butt, and she'd eventually give in to common sense. That all she needed to do was just believe hard enough that Sayaka was going to pop out of the mermaid witch at any second, and she would.

Now, she no longer believed. The fight with the witch had left her battered and broken. It was all she could do to sit up, propped against the wall of the strange orchestra pit. Her chest burnt with each breath. Her vision was blurry, but she could still make out the witch towering over her...

"Not gonna kill me, huh...?" The mere effort of speaking left her giving a series of wet coughs. The sharp taste of blood filled her mouth. She grimaced and, with her one good arm, patted the ground for her spear. Straining, she used it as a crutch to try pushing herself up to standing, and it was mere seconds before she collapsed to the floor again.

After a series of weaker coughs, Kyoko patted herself down, trying to find a box of candy. _Something_ to get the taste of blood out of her mouth. She had nothing. With a sigh, she propped herself back against the wall, then shivered in pain as she pushed her legs out to get a better look at them. Bone was sticking out of places it really shouldn't be. She called her soul gem into her hand... and paused.

Her soul gem was dark, and shadows danced in its colorless depths. She might be able to coax a little healing out of it... but for what? What was the point? She'd burnt every last spark from it trying to save Sayaka already. Her best hadn't been good enough. Only a fool would keep trying at this point. "Heh." With a hacking cough, Kyoko dropped the soul gem into her lap, then rolled her head back to look up at the witch as her eyes drifted closed. "Guess you finally won a fight, huh?"

Laying like this was almost relaxing. Kyoko imagined she could feel her blood flowing out drop by drop, while the last of the light faded from her soul gem. It was a race between death and despair, and one that she perversely hoped that despair won. The world hadn't done her favors. It hadn't even given her time to say goodbye to Sayaka.

Maybe destroying the city with her would be the next best thing.

Kyoko's chest ached, and every last breath was a burning effort of will. She opened her eyes, and found flickering shadows creeping out from herself. The jumbled, abstract walls of a barrier started pushing up, and as they closed in, she caught a final glimpse of the witch above her. She allowed herself one last smirk. "You've gotta wait up for me, okay?"

Fresh, sharp pain wracked Kyoko's body as her soul gem imploded on itself. The new witch's barrier was filled with the sounds of shattering glass and pained screams.

And then, everything stopped. Warm, warm arms closed around her from behind, and pulled her tight.

“I-idiot! Don't say things like that!”

Kyoko's eyes flew upon, and she found herself looking up at a worried-looking Madoka. The fact that she was wearing a flowing, ethereal, white dress was barely a footnote compared to the fact that she was floating in a hazy void. “A-ah, Sayaka-chan, I haven't given her the speech yet!”

Sayaka didn't seem to be listening. The arms wrapped around Kyoko squeezed her in tighter, and sniffling, Sayaka buried her face against the side of Kyoko's neck. “You d-don't need to be sad anymore, okay?”

Madoka gave a tired smile. “I'm sorry... Sayaka-chan has been really worried about you.” She offered a hand over. “Do you feel better now?”

Kyoko was... still dazed from the rather quick transition, but it was an easy decision to make. Her body had a joyful, light _wholeness_. She was confused, but the suicidal wish that had driven her minutes before was gone. The arms wrapped around her were undeniably real. She took a deep breath, and no pain speared through her chest. “Y-yeah. I think I'm good.”


	3. Mami and Kyoko - Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Tumblr user byebyezenbu.

Kyoko's one and only mistake had been letting her birthdate slip in a conversation. That was all it took.

As always, Mami had put entirely too much effort into it. Practically every corner of her apartment was hung with tasteful streamers. Every gift had been prepared in precisely-folded wrapping paper, with a perfectly photogenic little ribbon tied around it. The cake was so beautiful that Sayaka had cringed when she saw the first slice being cut.

And now, it was over. The floor held a heap of wrapping paper and the remains of the cake were in the fridge. Kyoko was sprawled on the couch, Nagisa was taking a cake-induced nap on a pile of cushions, and Mami was busy taking down all of the decorations.

It was her birthday. It was the one day of the year where Kyoko's refusal to help to help out with domestic chores wasn't just a choice, but a _right_. Even so, in the otherwise empty apartment, there wasn't much else to hold her attention, so she ended up watching Mami clean from her spot on the couch. "Jeez, you're really working your butt off."

"Well, maybe," Mami conceded with a smile. "But I don't mind. I enjoyed it."

"Hmph." Kyoko followed Mami with her eyes as the blonde carried a box of decorations into another room. Seeing her chance, she leeeeaned off the couch and swiped a little frosting off of the cake on a fingertip, then sucked it clean. "Seems like a lot of work for a party that only lasted a few hours."

"Are you complaining?"

"Eh, not really. It just seems like a lot of work for nothing, y'know?" Kyoko pushed herself up to sitting with a yawn. "I just got another year older. Doesn't mean anything."

"Hmm, but that's part of the fun, don't you think?" Kyoko could hear Mami approaching from behind, but was still surprised when her hands slid down into a light hug over the back of the couch. "When was the last time you had an actual birthday party?"

"Huh? I dunno. Back... when my parents were alive, I guess."

"Mmh. Me too." Mami's head settled down against the back of the couch now, close enough for Kyoko to feel her breath on her ear. "Don't you miss that kind of thing?"

"J-jeez." Kyoko jerked her head a bit further away. "Not like I had much say in it."

"That's what I mean. Me, and you, and... even Akemi-san." Mami hesitated before the last item, and Kyoko didn't wonder why for a moment. It was an unspoken understanding between the two that something was off about Homura, even if they weren't as vocal about it as Sayaka was. "We don't have families to do these things with, so... doing them together is nice, I think."

Kyoko huffed and slid out of Mami's arms. "Yeah, well, whatever. Just don't expect me to make a big fancy cake for your birthday. … one from a store, maybe. It still all seems kinda pointless to me, though.”

Mami laughed softly at that. “Didn't you know, Sakura-san? Caring about each other even when it's pointless is what families are for.”


	4. Kasen and Komachi - Keeping a Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Tumblr user hungry0bookworm.

“Yo!”

Mere months ago, being greeted by a shinigami while she was meditating and defenseless would have sent Kasen into a panic attack. Now, it barely even broke her concentration. She cracked one eye open and inclined her head just enough to see Komachi Onozuka, leaning on her scythe in a _completely_ informal manner that, in Kasen's opinion, did not befit an emissary of death. It was an opinion that she kept to herself for the time being. “Hello, Komachi. I'm afraid I still have no plans to die.”

“Yeah, I'd guessed. What are you up to?” Without being invited, Komachi sprawled on the floor next to her.

“Meditating,” Kasen said, but it was too late. Her mind had been jostled out of the right state for it. She sighed in defeat as she opened her eyes, but there was still a slight smile on her lips when she looked over to Komachi. “Why are you here? Come to give me another lecture?”

“Nah, nothing like that. Just here to give you some news. So, Hell has dispatched somebody to claim your life, and—“

“You're putting it a little lightly, don't you think?!” Kasen sat bolt upright now, as every instinct she had kicked into overdrive. Her eyes searched the horizon, as if she was expecting to see an assassin hovering in the sky already, but it held only fluffy white clouds. Even so, her mind raced. She'd been thinking of eventually taking her search for her arm underground anyway, so maybe if she departed immediately, she could be gone by the time—

“You look so serious!” Komachi chuckled and leaned back, hands resting on the ground behind her. “Are you going to let me finish?”

Kasen dragged her mind back to the present, and forced her eyes to turn toward Komachi again. “R-right. Yes, of course. Please continue.”

“So, like I was saying, they've _dispatched_ an assassin, but I think you should be safe. They've got completely the wrong location for you. According to your file, you've been using some weird hermit technique to meditate at the bottom of the ocean for a few years. Still so worried?” Komachi shot Kasen a wink before she tilted her head back to look up at the sky, herself.

And looking, to Kasen's eyes, entirely too pleased with herself for some reason. Kasen eyed the shinigami suspiciously. “How did Hell make such a big mistake? … and how do you know all of this?”

“... ah. Well, somebody might've filed some incorrect paperwork...”

Kasen stared incredulously, wondering how such a huge slip-up could have been made in the first place. But... the answer was staring her in the face. “... it was you, wasn't it?”

Komachi went rigid for a moment, then chuckled. “Caught red-handed, huh? Yeah, it was me.”

“... but why?”

“W-well...!” Komachi slumped down, avoiding Kasen's eyes, while a blush slowly rose to her cheeks. “I _am_ the one in charge of keeping an eye on you, but... you seem pretty harmless, you know? If the worst thing you do is try to keep that lazy shrine maiden in line, I think samsara can wait for a while. Who knows, maybe you'll do some good. Besides, observing you isn't half-boring.” She glanced over with a smirk. “This is the only excuse I have to get away from the river and have a chat.”

“Well, thank you. … but won't you get in trouble?”

“Nah. You don't know how they are down there. 'Simple-minded shinigami, she probably got tricked by that wily hermit.' I doubt they'll give it a second thought.” Komachi was now grinning so widely that it looked like her face might split in half. “Besides, with all those other hermits who popped up lately, they've got a pretty long backlog. It might be a century or two before somebody looks at your file again. Until then, it'll be our little secret. I just thought I'd let you know so you could relax for a bit.”

Kasen nodded distractedly. This was all a bit much for her to process so quickly, but as casual as Komachi was about the whole matter, she couldn't bring herself to fret too much. Seeing Komachi get flustered over the whole affair had left a smile on her lips, and it only grew as she considered the prospect of two centuries of peace. Several minutes of companionable silence passed before she pushed herself to standing and offered the shinigami a hand up. “You know, you've visited me a dozen times, and I've never invited you in. Would you like to discuss this over tea?”

For a second, Komachi stared at the bandaged arm like it might bite her, then slapped her own hand into Kasen's with enough force to sting. “That sounds good.”


	5. Reimu and Marisa - Under the Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Tumblr user hungry0bookworm.

So far, the main obstacle to solving the Spring Snow Incident had been, well, the snow.

The weather had shown all of its usual May fickleness, with the only constant being that the temperature refused to budge above freezing. After the snow transitioned into days of freezing rain, Marisa had decided to stay indoors and wait for dryer weather. Even she wasn't reckless enough to fly around in the rain all day.

It wasn't until she noticed distant nighttime clouds being illuminated by danmaku that she realized: Reimu was that reckless.

Marisa had enchanted her heaviest coat with a minor charm for warmth before flying off into the storm, but she was already regretting her choice. It was enough to keep her body warm, but her face was numb, and her fingers felt like they were going to freeze to her rain-slick broom at any minute. The clouds were blocking every bit of moonlight, leaving her increasingly frantic as she flew over what felt like half of Gensokyo, her eyes straining against the dark as they tried to pick out the merest hint of red-and-white cloth.

All in all, it took half an hour of flying before she spotted Reimu curled up beneath a tree.

The second that Marisa landed, she took off running for the base of the tree, only to stumble to a stop when she got her first good look. Even in the dark, it was obvious that Reimu had seen better days. The shrine maiden's clothes were soaked, her hair was matted against her head, her knees were clutched to her chest for warmth, and her skin... was a bit too pale. “H-hey! Jeez, you look like crap. Are you okay?”

If Reimu was surprised to see her, she certainly didn't show it. She only hugged her knees in tighter in response. “I'm f-fine. Just cold...”

Marisa's first instinct was to drag Reimu onto her broom and rush home as quickly as possible, but she paused. Reimu didn't quite look like she was in much condition for traveling in this weather, and the tree's branches were still blocking most of the rain...

If it were just warm, it wouldn't be a half-bad shelter.

“Hold on. Lemme see if I can get a fire going.”

* * *

If there was one thing that Marisa Kirisame was good at, it was setting things on fire. There were plenty of branches scattered nearby, and after flying through the rain, braving it a few seconds at a time to fetch them was no hassle. All of the wood was soaking wet, but... that wasn't much of a challenge for the mini-Hakkero.

Within minutes, a fire was crackling away a safe distance from the tree's trunk. Once she was safely under the branches again, Marisa leaned against the tree and stared into the fire's depths. “... so why the heck are you out here?”

“I could ask you the same thing, you know.” Reimu was very slowly relaxing out of her heat-preserving curl as the warmth seeped back into her extremities.

“ _You're_ the one who ended up hidin' under a tree in the middle of the night. What's up? Who were you fighting?”

Reimu defiantly held Marisa's gaze for a moment, then leaned back and lowered her eyes. “I thought I saw a trail of cherry blossoms going above the sky. I had to check it out, okay?”

“At midnight while it's raining?”

“Look, I know that looking into this kind of thing is just a hobby for you, but... it's my duty. If I mess up, everybody in Gensokyo has to live with it. I can't afford to—“ Reimu's speech was cut off as Marisa shrugged her coat off, then draped it over her. “... what are you doing?”

“It's warm, see?” Marisa turned around and unceremoniously plopped down to the slightly-muddy ground, then scooted over to join Reimu beneath the coat. “If you'd told me you were goin' out in this weather, I could've given you something like this in the first place. Probably a lot easier to fight when you can feel your fingers. … I know that in your head, it's always kinda been you on one side and everybody else on the other. Like you're the only person in the whole world you can depend on for this stuff. But you don't have to do everything yourself. You can ask for help sometimes, y'know?”

“Pretty generous words, coming from somebody who eats half my food,” Reimu said, without much bite to it. Her eyes drifted shut, and her head inclined ever-so-slightly to rest against the magician's shoulder. “... thank you, Marisa.”

“ _Somebody's_ got to keep an eye out for a dummy like you,” Marisa said… and then tensed up as she felt still-clammy fingers interlace with her own. “... what are you doing?”

“Warming my hands up. Have a problem with it?”

“U-uh, no. I'm good. You just take your time and, uh, warm up. It's a pretty long flight back to the shrine.” Marisa scooted a little closer, and the pair went quiet, listening to the sound of the rain through the canopy overhead until the fire burnt down.


	6. Reimu and Marisa - Kick in the Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Tumblr user nijik-ajies.

When the strange girl had demanded that Reimu give up control of the Hakurei Shrine, she'd barely thought twice about it. Weird people making weird demands was practically a part of daily life in Gensokyo. But then, the rumors had started. Strange alliances with the tengu. Nightly celebrations that lit up half the mountainside. The mysterious other shrine seemed determined to pull all of Gensokyo into its shadow, and still, Reimu's donation box stood empty.

This couldn't continue if the Hakurei shrine was going to continue its role as the sentry of the border. Marisa was worried too, she could tell. She'd pretended not to be concerned when she'd announced her intention to fix the situation, but she'd still rushed through her preparations before hurrying up the mountain.

From the shrine, Reimu could see Marisa's cottage, and no smoke had come from the chimney since then. The magician had never returned home.

It had taken all of her resolve to wait a full day before setting off after Marisa. She wasn't worried, she had to remind herself. Marisa could definitely take care of herself. Of course. She was just going to check up on the situation.

The flight up the mountain had been long and tiring. Unlike the youkai everywhere else, the ones here were _organized_. Ever since she'd passed the foothills, Reimu had been able to hear alarms and the cries of sentries echoing up and down the slopes. The ruckus had drawn hundreds of fairies out to join the excitement. What should have been a short walk had turned into a grueling hours-long battle for every meter she progressed.

But now, she could see roof of the mountain shrine peeking through the trees. The youkai settlements no longer bothered to attempt to conceal themselves, and a few distant tengu watched in confusion as the shrine maiden battled through the last few fairies. A series of torii heralded her arrival at the shrine, and after rushing through them, she found herself in the courtyard.

“Oh, hey! If you're coming up, I guess you've changed your mind.” The green-haired girl was sitting on the front step, looking quite unconcerned with Reimu's sudden arrival. “Once your shrine is under our control, we'll have all of Gensokyo's faith in one place. So, how about it? Wanna join up with us?”

Reimu shook her head with a smirk. “You're pretty sure of yourself, aren't you? If somebody like you took over, the native gods would never let you hear the end of it.” A familiar flick of her wrist dropped a new stack of ofuda into her palm. “Maybe once I beat you up with their power, you'll understand that.”

“I thought so...” The girl sighed and rose to her feet with a confident lack of urgency, and in response, Reimu spread the stack of ofuda in her fingers, preparing for an attack... an attack that didn't come. Instead, the other shrine maiden turned and rapped on the frame of the door. “I don't think she's going to listen.”

The mountaintop was quiet enough that Reimu could hear the footsteps approaching the door. It opened slowly, to reveal... Marisa. “... hey.” Reimu instantly knew that something was wrong by the way the magician's eyes instantly turned downward. She had thought that she'd seen the full spectrum of Marisa's emotions, but never before had she seen her acting _ashamed_. “Not goin' for it, huh?”

“W-what...? No, I'm not joining with this shrine. What kind of question is that?”

“Well, it's just... look, are ya sure you've thought about it?”

“It's not much of an 'offer.' What's this about, Marisa?”

“I dunno. I was gonna trash the place and teach 'em a lesson, but then we got to talking.” Marisa shrugged. “Y'know, you've been doing that job ever since we've known each other. Ten years, and you've barely had two yen to rub together the whole time.”

“Keeping the shrine going is hard, but... I get by,” Reimu said, growing increasingly uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was heading. “I'm not about to just give up over that.”

Marisa nodded glumly. “I thought you'd say that. You can be okay with it, but I'm not. I'm tired of watchin' you work your butt off for nothing. You deserve better than that. So if you're not gonna back down...”

Reimu couldn't believe the words she was hearing. It all felt so faraway suddenly, while nauseous anxiety rose in her throat. “Are you here to _stop me_?”

“Yeah. Better for everybody this way.” Marisa shot her a weak smile as she lifted the mini-hakkero to her hands, and a telltale blue flame began emanating from the end. “Ready? I'll try to make this quick.”

The only response was the sound of Reimu's gohei falling to the cobblestone from her trembling fingers.


	7. Seiga and Yoshika - All That I Have

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Tumblr user dlartistanon.

“Uwaaaargh~.” Yoshika had seen better days. The series of claw marks across the front of her outfit showed bloodless gashes in her skin below, but didn't seem to be inconveniencing her in the slightest. Her real problem was a more mundane one—knocked onto her back, her stiff joints wouldn't flex enough to easily push herself up to standing.

Seiga tapped her chin as she considered this sad sight. Animals didn't seem to have any compunctions about trying to eat the dead girl lately, even if she was still moving around. At least now she knew why the jiang-shi had never returned home last night. Whatever had attacked her this time had ripped the to-do list charm from her forehead. Only the words “walk to” were left on the torn stub that remained attached, and following that vague command to the best of her ability, Yoshika had apparently wandered right into a ditch. “Let me guess, another wolf?”

“Ah!” Yoshika's cloudy eyes turned to stare at Seiga, and it took her several seconds to consider this weighty question. “Wooooolf?”

“Yes, I'm asking if you were attacked by a wolf.”

Yoshika frowned in concentration again, then started rocking excitedly in the ditch. “Ah! Yes! I remember! Wolf!”

Seiga shook her head with a sigh, but a smile still found its way to her lips. “Right, then. Let's get you cleaned up.” She squatted down and grabbed one of the zombie's clammy wrists. “Ready? Hup!” She pulled Yoshika up to standing, and the jiang-shi immediately started trying to totter off until Seiga reached over and ripped the remnants of the charm from her forehead. That left Yoshika standing and staring into the air blankly. It gave Seiga enough time to fish her hat out of the ditch, wipe the worst of the mud out of it, and sit it perfectly atop Yoshika's matted hair. She spent a good three or four minutes fussing over the girl, wiping the grime off and straightening her clothes, before she was satisfied. “Are you ready to go home?”

“... … ...” Yoshika hunched over as she thought, then jerked bolt upright. “Yes!”

“Good.” Seiga led the way, and took care to pace herself to keep from letting Yoshika fall behind. It was fortunately a short walk back to the nearest shortcut to Senkai, and soon the two were walking through its halls, which were much less of an obstacle for the stiff-legged jiang-shi. Once she was inside her room, Seiga filled a brazier with unnatural blue fire with a wave of her hand, then walked over to a stained table and patted the surface. “Up.”

Obediently, Yoshika stumbled over, then stared at the table in confusion until Seiga helped hoist her onto it. After pushing the zombie onto her back, she unbuttoned her shirt, pulled it apart to survey the damage, and winced. “Yoshika, do you know where your left kidney went?”

“Gwaaaargh...” With a moan, Yoshika waved her arms feebly in the air until she managed to sit up far enough to survey the damage herself. “... … it got eaten.”

“ _Eaten_. Of course.” Seiga prodded her finger into a few of the gashes and holes to check for any other missing contents, then wiped the fluids clinging to it off on the jiang-shi's tummy. “Well, let's get you patched up.”

“Patched up!” Yoshika echoed. Seiga walked across the room and fetched a spool of heavy thread, then hooked some of it through a slightly oversized needle. Any human patient would be running for their life at this point, but Yoshika just watched blankly as Seiga pinched one of the wounds together and started sewing it up.

“The damage doesn't look like anything you won't heal after a couple of meals, but...” Seiga trailed off, her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth in concentration as she pulled the thread through a knot at the end of one gash. “... you're supposed to protect yourself when animals try to eat you. We talked about this before. Do you remember?”

“Uh. Uhhhh. … yes.”

“Then why don't you fight back?”

Yoshika's silent contemplation was even longer than usual this time, and Seiga managed to patch up several more holes before she said anything. “... I belong to you,” she said, with a growing grin on her face. “And doing your orders... so anything that happens... it's okay.” The jiang-shi trailed off and gave a thoughtful-sounding gurgle. “I belong to you, so, uhhhhh, so. Don't mind if I get eaten, if it's to do what you want.”

“That's very sweet, I'm sure,” Seiga said, reaching up to ruffle Yoshika's hair with a rather unclean hand. “But I sent you out to buy candles. If my cute little jiang-shi is going to sacrifice herself, let's save it for something more important, yes?”

“Yes!” Yoshika arched her whole body to let her rub her head against that petting hand, then dropped to the table again like a sack of potatoes. “Importaaaant.”

“Good.” Seiga put the finishing touches on one last stitch, then cut the thread and inspected her handiwork. “Then let's get you ready to go out. I think it's only fair for you to have wolf for breakfast today.”


	8. Alice and Marisa - Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Tumblr user rottenher.

"Still, though! She turned me into a _bird_. That's insulting, that's what that is."

"Mmh." Alice didn't even look up from her book at this point. It had been almost a week since the religious wars had ended, and somehow, Marisa was still obsessed with a single topic. "I think it was a raven."

"Well, that's even worse! Why'd Reimu get to be a fox and I'm a raven?"

"Do you feel like a fox?"

"Well, uh. Not really. But still. Ravens're noisy assholes, and they steal half my garden."

"That sounds fitting..." Alice said. It took every ounce of her willpower to maintain a perfectly deadpan expression. "They're very intelligent, too."

"Well, I don't wanna be a raven."

Alice sighed and reluctantly closed her book. She could see that she wasn't going to get any studying done until the matter was resolved. "Then why don't you file a complaint with Mamizou and ask to be turned into a different animal next time you duel?"

"Hey, yeah...! I could kick her butt in a duel and make her turn me into somethin' cuter next time!" Marisa grinned proudly at this revolutionary idea, then rubbed her chin. "Hey, what kinda animal do you think I am? Somethin' cute."

"You seem to be taking your cuteness as a given," Alice said, but folded her hands in her lap and considered the question. "... a cat. Ask her to turn you into a cat."

"Why a cat?"

"Sometimes you disappear for days at a time without warning. You have entirely too much curiosity for your own good. Given how many times you've blown yourself up, I'm _fairly_ certain that you have nine lives. Well, had."

"Hmmm... _and_ I'm cute!"

"And you're cute," Alice conceded.

"Hehe. I knew it! I got you to say it!"

"Yes, congratulations. I'm glad that the matter is resolved," Alice said, already pulling her bookmark out.

"If I'm a cat, does that mean I've gotta rub all over ya to mark my territory?"

Alice had known she was in trouble from the second that Marisa started leeeeaning forward with that cheeky grin on her face, but she still hadn't quite been prepared for _that_. She barely got her book up in time to hide her burning blush. "I-I think you have a tanuki to talk to first, dear."


	9. Alice and Wakasagihime - Fairytale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Tumblr user amemenojaku.

Misty Lake was several kilometers from the human village. It was within sight of the foreboding Scarlet Devil Mansion. Kappa traveled the rivers that fed it, and fairies played on its banks. As a result, it wasn't the kind of place that most people liked to visit.

But Alice Margatroid wasn't most people. The lake made a convenient resting point on her trips to the mansion and the human village. Today, she'd packed a lunch and stopped for a picnic on the shore of the lake. She had relaxed and enjoyed the breeze before heading out for the village...

... and the first houses were in sight before she realized that she'd left her coin purse behind. After hurrying back to the lake, she sent dozens of dolls out along its banks, searching for her purse, but it was nowhere to be found.

Instead, exactly where she'd rested, was sitting a small basket of woven reeds, filled with polished stones. She approached it slowly and looked around, but nobody was to be seen, and the only footprints on the beach were her own. It was like the purse had transformed into the basket without any outside input.

As soon as Alice lifted the basket and inspected its contents, the sound of a splash drew her attention. Out on the lake's surface, cloaked in mist, she could just barely see a silhouette. "Er, hello? Are you the one that left this here...?"

In response, the figure on the lake disappeared silently beneath the water.

* * *

It was intriguing enough for her to take the matter for a second opinion.

"Hmmm." Patchouli finished squinting at one stone and moved on to the last one. "I believe this is a rough sapphire. It's not gem quality, but still valuable. How much did you say was in your purse?"

Alice frowned and leaned over to look at the rock, herself. She admittedly had no idea what an uncut sapphire looked like. "About three thousand yen..."

"Then I would say that you more than made your money back. Even the agates here have value to a collector."

"Well, that's good. I'd still like to know where they came from, though. It doesn't seem like something a fairy would do, and I can't exactly credit a fish..."

"There are other possibilities, of course. Ruling out the more mundane ones... you may have encountered a brownie."

"A brownie," Alice said, flatly.

"Yes. They're rare here, but it's conceivable that one ended up in Gensokyo. They grant boons in exchange for small gifts, dislike being seen, leave few traces, and some varieties live in the water. I would say that fits the description, wouldn't you?"

Alice nodded and considered this, before hesitantly asking, “... if so, what would the appropriate response be?”

* * *

The next day, following Patchouli's advice, Alice left a dish of cream by the shores of the lake. When she returned, it was empty, and a tidy heap of pearls was sitting next to it.

By the third day, Alice had a minor obsession with learning what she was dealing with. The pursuit of knowledge was the highest calling for a magician, after all, and in a land like Gensokyo, viewing a legendary creature didn't seem like such an insurmountable obstacle.

Her preparations were more thorough this time. A larger bowl of cream nestled in the sand near the high water mark served as her bait, and further up the bank, she spread a blanket for a base camp, with enough food and reading material to let her keep watch all day if she needed to. She had to at least _thank_ her mysterious benefactor.

It was the better part of an hour before a trail of large ripples caught her attention. She watched, not daring to move, as they approached the bank. Silently, a girl rose out of the water... with bobbed blue hair and a kimono. Not exactly how she'd pictured a brownie looking, from Patchouli's descriptions. The girl hummed to herself as she looked over the bowl of cream, drained the contents with a satisfied sigh, and reached up her sleeve. From a small pouch—which Alice instantly recognized as her coin purse—she started pulling out rocks and arranging them in an orderly pile next to the dish.

It wasn't until a massive fish tail briefly breached the water behind the girl that Alice was fairly certain that she was dealing with something a bit more mundane than a foreign household spirit.

Well. By Gensokyo standards, at least.

“Excuse me...?” Alice moved very slowly toward the mermaid's direction, but it was no use. At the first sound of her voice, the girl startled, jerked away from shore, and dove back under the water with a splash.

“Ah, no, please wait! I just wanted to talk!” Alice rushed toward the shore now, but found only the placid surface of the lake waiting for her. She was just about to accept her defeat and head home when a mop of blue hair and a pair of eyes peeked up from the water a dozen meters away. As casually as she could, Alice held her hands out to show that they were empty. “I don't mean you any harm.”

The mermaid studied her for a moment, then slowly approached the shore again and rose out of the water. “Um, sorry. Surfacers are just... kinda scary sometimes.” Looking bashfully downward, she brushed a lock of hair back, revealing a finned ear. “Can I help you...?”

Alice closed the last few steps to the water and crouched down to a more comfortable height for conversation. “You're the one who's been leaving pearls and stones for me, right? Why?”

“Oh!” At that, all traces of hesitance disappeared. “Well, the coins that you left behind were pretty, but I didn't want to just take them without giving you something in return... and then you brought the...” Her eyes turned down uncertainly toward the empty dish for a moment. “... drink, and it was really good! … Um, I'm sorry if it wasn't intended for me. I probably should have asked, I guess...”

“No, it's fine,” Alice said with a smile. “I was a bit upset about the coin purse at first, but the others were gifts for you. If anything I still owe you more. Some of those stones were valuable.” With a silent wave of her hand, a small team of dolls started dragging her blanket and supplies closer to the water. “I still have the rest of the bottle with me, if you'd like more.”

“A-ah! Um. I mean. If it's not too much trouble...”

“Not at all.” Alice offered a hand over, then helped drag the girl the last half-meter to sit on the wet sand, with her tail still dangling in the water. Afterward, a helpful doll hovered up to deliver a half-bottle of cream into her hand, and Alice offered it over. “I'm Alice Margatroid.”

The girl's hand shot out toward the bottle, then hovered centimeters away once she remembered her manners. “W-wakasagihime.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you,” Alice said, and the mermaid wasted no time in taking the bottle. As she wrestled with the cap, Alice busied herself with unpacking the rest of her picnic.


	10. Hibiki and Miku - Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Tumblr user dlartistanon.

Miku didn't have an official title, but now she was allowed practically anywhere in the Disaster Response Team HQ. No longer did she have to lay in bed wondering where Hibiki was at all hours of the night. If she wanted, she could sit in the control room and watch every single fight.

In some ways, getting rid of the secrets had helped.

On the other hand, now she knew exactly why Hibiki was in the hospital. She'd seen every second as the lone girl stood her ground alone against an army of Noise mere miles away... and had to watch, unable to do a thing, as Hibiki had taken an uncharacteristic beating that had almost overwhelmed even the resilient Gungnir. It had been the worst she'd felt since the night of the lunar attack.

It felt like the doctors had been attending to her for hours, and Miku had barely moved the whole time. She just stared at the floor, fingers fretting with the strap of her purse, until the door to the hospital room opened and a nurse peeked out. “Ah, Kohinata. You can see her now.”

“Thank you.” Miku lifted her purse to her shoulder, took a breath to steady herself, and stepped into the room. The medical staff filtered out one by one to give the two a little privacy.

It wasn't quite as bad as she'd dreaded. Hibiki appeared to be more-or-less in one piece. A few IVs disappeared under the sleeves of her hospital gown, but she looked healthy enough as she gave a bashful smile. “A-ah! Hiya!”

Miku wanted to rush forward and hug her, but with all those IVs, it was probably a bad idea. Instead, she stood uncomfortably a step or two away. “Hi. I-is everything okay...?”

“Ah, yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine! Ehe. Sorry to make you worry.” When Miku didn't look particularly relieved by this, Hibiki's voice grew a bit more serious. “They said I've just been pushing myself too much, I guess... not getting enough sleep and stuff, I mean. Ahhh, I really screwed things up, huh?”

“You have been pushing yourself too hard.” Miku's eyes trailed downward toward the floor again, and her voice got even quieter. “I've barely seen you since you got back...”

Miku was cut off as Hibiki grabbed her hands and gave her a gentle tug forward. It left her pressed to the edge of the bed, and Hibiki leaned forward, resting her chin on Miku's shoulder. “As long as you're here, I'll always come back, y'know. Hehe. I can't be defeated!”

“I know...” Miku said. “I just wish you didn't have to spend so much time away.”

“Well...” Hibiki pulled back just far enough for them to speak face to face. “I'm fighting to protect all the things I love. The city, and all of our friends, and, um, you. I-it sounds better when you think of it like that, right?”

“Mmhm.” Miku allowed herself a slight smile, but Hibiki's enthusiasm just seemed to be mounting.

“And! They said that I've gotta take some time off to rest! Kyahaaa~!” Hibiki grinned like a kid on her birthday and pulled Miku into a tight hug. “I want to eat out every day! And we can take Chris to a themepark! And go sightseeing!”

“I don't know if that counts as resting...”

“Ahh, but that's why we'll take a six hour nap together every afternoon!”

“Ah, of course.” Miku giggled at the sheer childish improbability of the schedule, then leaned deeper into the hug. Between the conversation and the familiar sensation of messy brown hair against her face, she was feeling better already.


End file.
